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Court of Appeal returns to Mbale after two years
Left to right: Justice Cheborion Barishaki, Justice Elizabeth Musoke, then Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Justice Kenneth Kakuru, and (now rtd) Justice Remmy Kasule during the Age Limit petition ruling in Mbale District in 2018. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Out of the 30 appeal cases, 20 are challenging conviction for murder, 17 cases for aggravated defilement, two are against conviction for robbery and one for rape.
Deputy Chief Justice Richard Butera has opened a Court of Appeal session in Mbale City that is expected to handle 30 criminal cases, with murder topping the list.
A panel of three justices headed by Cheborion Barishaki is expected to handle cases from Elgon, Sebei and Bukedi sub-region for a period of one-month. Other justices are Christopher Gashirabake and Oscar Kahika.
Out of the 30 appeal cases, 20 are challenging conviction for murder, 17 cases for aggravated defilement, two are against conviction for robbery and one for rape.
Justice Butera, while opening the session at Mbale High Court premises on Monday, said the court is trying as much as possible to bring services closer to the people.
He said the Court of Appeal, which is the second highest court in the country, will soon open regional courts beginning with Mbarara and Gulu districts.
“Then in the subsequent financial years, it will be rolled down to Masaka, Mbale, Jinja, Arua, Soroti, Mubende districts,” he said.
Justice Barishaki said there is an increase in murder cases in the region unlike the previous year where aggravated defilement dominated the list of appeals.
“We pledge total commitment to giving judgement in the shortest time possible and I also urge the DPP and lawyers to get prepared because there shall be no time to waste,” he said.
In 2021, three Court of Appeal justices; Elizabeth Musoke, Cheborion Barishaki and Justice Paul Mugamba handled 51 criminal appeals, which included 44 murder cases, four for aggravated defilement, one for robbery and one for manslaughter.
Mbale Senior Resident Judge Godfrey Namondi said the circuit is overwhelmed with cases and challenged the Judiciary to consider appointing another judge to help in reducing the backlog.
“We have enough space to accommodate the third resident judge,” he said.
Mr Ronald Godie, the eastern region prisons commander, said the prisons are overwhelmed by a big number of inmates.
“We last had a Court of Appeal session in 2021, this is a long time, which has caused congestion in our prisons in the region, especially in Mbale,’’ he said.
The Uganda Law Society president for eastern region, Mr Gracious Obedo, however, noted that cases of missing documents remain a challenge at the court.
The Mbale City Mayor, Mr Cassimu Namugali, challenged the Judiciary to establish a permanent Court of Appeal to handle cases expeditiously in a bid to offer justices to the people.
The Mbale Resident City Commissioner, Mr John Rex Achila, observed that there is an increasing case of criminality in the region.
